HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University softball team opened Southland Conference play with a doubleheader sweep of UIW Saturday afternoon at North Oak Park.
The two wins gave Southeastern (18-5, 2-0 SLC) its 10
th consecutive Southland Conference series win and extended the Lady Lions' current win streak to six games. UIW fell to 12-5 overall and 0-2 in Southland Conference play.
In the opener, consecutive RBI by
Maddie Watson,
Lexi Johnson and
Audrey Greely in the bottom of the sixth inning keyed a 4-3 Southeastern win.
Ellie DuBois,
Allison Brunson (2-0) and
Cera Blanchard combined to hold the Cardinals to four hits.
Blanchard (7-1), who earned her second save of the spring in the opener, went the distance in the nightcap, striking out eight in a complete-game shutout effort in SLU's 2-0 victory.
Chloe Magee and
Maddie Watson each drove in runs for the Lady Lions, as Blanchard out-dueled UIW starter Larissa Jacquez (3-3), who fanned six and held Southeastern to four hits in a complete-game showing.
The series wraps up Sunday with a noon contest. Live stats for the game will be available at
www.LionSports.net/sidearmstats/softball. Fans will have the opportunity to win prizes by playing Bingo at the Ballpark at Sunday's series finale.
Game 1 – Southeastern 4, UIW 3
DuBois and UIW starter Bella Mitchell matched zeroes until Southeastern took the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Magee singled, stole second and scored on an RBI single by
Maria Detillier to give the Lady Lions a 1-0 advantage.
DuBois made it stand until the Cardinals finally got to her in the top of the sixth inning. Ryleigh Mata beat out an infield single, then Victoria Altamirano powered a two-run home run over the left field fence to put UIW in front, 2-1. Brunson came in to relieve DuBois and retired the next three Cardinals to keep the deficit at one run.
Magee, Detillier and
Bailey Krolczyk all reached to open the bottom of the sixth inning, loading the bases with no outs. The next three Lady Lions –
Maddie Watson, Johnson and Greely – all singled home runs to stake SLU to a 4-2 lead.
UIW scratched across a run against Brunson in the top of the seventh, but Blanchard struck out Altamirano to end the game and leave the potential tying run stranded at third.
Game Two – Southeastern 2, UIW 0
Southeastern took the lead against Jacquez in the bottom of the first inning.
Ka'Lyn Watson led off the game with a triple into the left centerfield gap, then scored on a UIW error to put SLU on top, 1-0.
UIW mounted its best threat in the third, as consecutive two-out singles by Mata and Altamirano put a pair on with two outs. Blanchard struck out
Jillian Gutierrez to keep the Cardinals off the board. The Cardinals managed leadoff singles in the fifth and sixth innings, but Blanchard again held strong.
Southeastern added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Magee beat out a bunt single and scored two outs later, when
Maddie Watson flared an RBI single into shallow right center to double the Lady Lion lead.
Blanchard made the lead stand up in the seventh, retiring UIW in order and punctuating the doubleheader sweep with a strike out of Maddison Guillen to allow SLU to continue its winning ways.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on X and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
HOME RUN CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the softball program are encouraged to join the Home Run Club. Lady Lion softball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Home Run Club and S Club (softball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern softball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit
www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit
www.LionSports.net/clear.
